Cannabis and the Border: What Pot-smoking Canadians Need to Know

‘I see a wall on the northern border for Canadians because of marijuana,’ immigration lawyer says.

Each day, 400,000 Canadians cross the Canada-U.S. border. Beginning Oct. 17, 2018, more and more of those travellers could be forced to answer an uncomfortable question posed by wary American customs officers: Have you ever smoked pot?

Those who tell the truth risk being banned from the United States for life and might have to apply for special waivers in order to visit the U.S. in future.

Questions about cannabis use have dogged some Canadian travellers in recent years, with mixed results. Thousands of Canadians have been denied entry to the U.S., while others have been banned simply for admitting they’ve smoked a joint once in their lives. For American border guards, a confession is just as good as a conviction.